On the Malta and topologically very close to the CPU there is the CBUS. CBUS is a simple bus. Among other things on the CBUS there is a 16550 UART. This arrangement allows RS-232 output even before other hardware has been configured. This UART has been added for debug purposes only. As such it's normally used and accessible only through a header. Nevertheless Linux supports this UART making it accessible as /dev/ttyS2.

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The Malta can operate in [[Endianess|big endian]] or [[Endianess|little endian]] mode. This is accomplished by a ''BIGEND'' switch on the board.

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The 4Mbyte FLASH at the 0xbe000000 contains YAMON, YAMON's environment and has a free space for user applications.

==Core cards==

==Core cards==

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Malta board may be equipped with various "core cards". A core card includes a CPU, a system controller (aka Northbridge) and SDRAM module.

Malta board may be equipped with various "core cards". A core card includes a CPU, a system controller (aka Northbridge) and SDRAM module.

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{| border=1

+

{| {{PrettyTable}}

!CoreCard||CORID||CPUs||Controller

!CoreCard||CORID||CPUs||Controller

|-

|-

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|CoreFPGA3||9||.||[[MIPS SOC-it 101]]

|CoreFPGA3||9||.||[[MIPS SOC-it 101]]

|}

|}

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== Firmware ==

== Firmware ==

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== Linux support ==

== Linux support ==

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The Malta is fully supported by Linux&nbsp;2.4 and Linux&nbsp;2.6. Since generally the main [[Git|GIT]] tree on linux-mips.org is more geared towards development a separate [[Malta Linux Repository]] that's geared towards absolute stability on Malta is being maintained by MIPS Technologies Inc.

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The Malta is fully supported by Linux&nbsp;2.6 and current Linux&nbsp;3.x kernels. The main [[Git]] tree hosted on linux-mips.org is geared towards bleeding-edge development. There is a separate [http://git.linux-mips.org/?p=linux-mti.git;a=summary tree] that is geared towards absolute stability on Malta as well as the [[MIPS SEAD-3|SEAD-3]] platform. It is actively maintained by MIPS Technologies, Inc.

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[[OVPsim]] supports the Mips Malta Platform booting Linux

==Emulation==

==Emulation==

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Malta board is the most popular platform for MIPS full-system emulation.

Malta board is the most popular platform for MIPS full-system emulation.

CBUS

On the Malta and topologically very close to the CPU there is the CBUS. CBUS is a simple bus. Among other things on the CBUS there is a 16550 UART. This arrangement allows RS-232 output even before other hardware has been configured. This UART has been added for debug purposes only. As such it's normally used and accessible only through a header. Nevertheless Linux supports this UART making it accessible as /dev/ttyS2.

Core cards

Malta board may be equipped with various "core cards". A core card includes a CPU, a system controller (aka Northbridge) and SDRAM module.

Firmware

Malta uses YAMON for its firmware. YAMON determines various Core card models and their endianness automatically. The YAMON image contains Big and Little endian parts and "magic" code to determine the current endian.

Linux support

The Malta is fully supported by Linux 2.6 and current Linux 3.x kernels. The main Git tree hosted on linux-mips.org is geared towards bleeding-edge development. There is a separate tree that is geared towards absolute stability on Malta as well as the SEAD-3 platform. It is actively maintained by MIPS Technologies, Inc.

Emulation

Malta board is the most popular platform for MIPS full-system emulation.